Western European News Digest
Poland's New PM Tough on Cheney's Missile Defense
Dec. 21 (EIRNS)Unlike his predecessor, neo-con ally Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland's newly elected Prime Minister Donald Tusk has made clear that Poland will allow the United States to install a U.S. missile defense system under Poland's terms only. He told the Super Express tabloid in an interview on Dec. 21, that Poland will not allow a U.S. missile defense base within its borders unless it has a "100%" guarantee that the installation will serve the country's national security needs. "If there is no such certainty, there will be no installation."
The United States says that the system, which would include ten interceptors in northern Poland, as well as a radar in the Czech Republic, would counter future threats from so-called rogue states such as Iran. But Russia says such an installation so close to its territory would be hostile to its own security, and has threatened to target the base in Poland with missiles.
Former Polish Premier Kaczynski was highly accommodating to the U.S. proposal. Tusk's Civic Platform party won Oct. 21 elections, pledging, among other things, to take a more skeptical approach to the missile defense plan.
Personal Debt Higher than GDP in Britain
Dec. 17 (EIRNS)Almost 1 million British households are struggling with their mortgage payments, and another 1.8 million (15%) are having problems, "at least occasionally," according to a survey released by the Bank of England in its latest Quarterly Bulletin. Things are going to be a lot worse, the tabloid Daily Mail reported today.
Britain is actually bankrupt, with personal debt exceeding GDP this year, for the first time in its history. Personal debt is a whopping $2.690 billion, bigger than the estimated GDP of $2.666 billion, according to a new report prepared by accounting firm Grant Thornton. Economist Stephen Gifford said that the only reason Britain is not "technically bankrupt," is that most consumer debt is "secured"but with the perilous state of the housing bubble, this is actually not true. But, Gifford admitted, Britain "can no longer generate enough GDP to cover the amount we owe." Last week, the consumer group Citizens Advice warned that unpayable subprime mortgages will "turn into a nightmare of debt and homelessness for thousands more vulnerable people."
Italy: Infrastructure, Families Neglected by Government
Dec. 15 (EIRNS)Giulio Tremonti and Paolo Cirino Pomicino, two former Italian economics ministers, intervened in the debate on the current government budget law, to point out the lack of investment for development and protection for families, especially those exposed to mortgage risks.
Giulio Tremonti, current deputy chairman of the House and leading member of the Forza Italia opposition party, accused the government of having introduced tax relief for banks, "financed through a tax increase for the manufacturing industry."
Paolo Cirino Pomicino, a budget minister in the late '80s and a member of the tiny Christian Democracy for Autonomies (CDA), a centrist party, had introduced an amendment for infrastructure investments which the government has rejected. The amendment proposed "at least 25 billion euros in three years to finance large infrastructural investments, reconstruction of urban peripheries, and strong tax relief for investments to small and medium-sized enterprises." Pomicino's amendment, however, is weak on the side of financing, proposing to find the money by selling state real estate assets.
British Government Wants 'Financial Emergency' Committee
Dec. 17 (EIRNS)The London Guardian reported today that British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling wants to set up a special new government committee to deal with financial emergencies. The committee would be modelled on the "Cobra Committee," which deals with civil emergencies in Britain, according to Treasury sources. Cobra is chaired by either the Prime Minister or Home Secretary, and the new financial committee would give the chancellor and government more control when the next Northern Rock-style bank run or similar crisis hits.
After the European Central Bank pumped 350 billion euros (about $500 billion) into the system Dec. 11, Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, told the British House of Commons Treasury Select Committee the same thing.
Minister: Italy Should Become Producer of Luxury Goods
Dec. 17 (EIRNS)Italian Finance Minister Tommaso Padoa Schioppa said in an interview with the Financial Times, that Italy's manufacturing role in globalization is that of a producer of luxury items. "The amount of people who want a Ferrari is increasing extremely fast. The same is true for excellent wine and sophisticated clothing. If Italians are capable of moving fast into the top layer of quality, then the fact that they manufacture traditional goods is not an impediment. It is also an opportunity."
Before undergoing neoliberal "therapy" in the 1980s and 1990s, Italy was a producer of "quality" manufactures in automotive, rail, aerospace, energy, shipbuilding, steel, etc. Those products were aimed at a large consumer market, represented by an expanding middle class. Now, most productive sectors have been or are being dismantled; the middle class is rapidly disappearing. But Padoa Schioppa, a former central banker, seems not disturbed by that. If a majority of Italians cannot afford a middle-class limousine, they should buy a Ferrari. "Let them eat cake!"
Sarkozy Does Not Favor Breakup of Belgium
Dec. 17 (EIRNS)The French daily Libération's Brussels correspondent wrote a full-page article today on the potential break-up of Belgium, which follows the latest speech of Daniel Ducarme, a former Belgian minister and currently a member of the Belgian Parliament for the Walloon liberal party Mouvement Reformateur (MR) in the Brussels region. On Dec. 15, Ducarme proposed that the French-speaking Walloons create a French Belgium, uniting Wallonia and Brussels in a single area, leaving Belgium with the status of association with France similar to French Polynesia. Ducarme's remarks are seen as a trial balloon, but represent the first statement of an elected official on that level going so far in that direction. Up till now, the party campaigning to attach the Walloons to France received only 0.39% in federal elections last June. The move is presented as the Walloons' answer to the nationalistic drive of the Flemish.
While Libération notes that Ducarme was meeting French parliamentarians to discuss the idea, the paper reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy, for the first time taking a stand on the subject, declared at the European Council session in Brussels Dec. 14, "It is a serious matter. The position of France is that Belgium, a great neighboring and friendly country, can overcome its difficulties. Under no circumstances do we want to interfere."
German Maglev Projects Discussed in India, Iran
Dec. 19 (EIRNS)An industry lobby, "Bavaria for Transrapid," was established in Germany this week, which will place newspaper ads and sponsor public forums by experts to counter the anti-maglev populism of people like Munich Mayor Christian Ude.
The Bavarian state government is insisting on a national pro-maglev law that would make the construction of the planned Munich project mandatory, and guarantee additional funds, should they become necessary to carry out that project. The impact of the LaRouche-linked BüSo party's campaigns for the maglev projects can be seen in these developments.
Increased interest in the technology can be reported from outside Germany as well:
India's financial capital, Mumbai, is considering a six-route, 16-30 mile, $5.4 billion maglev high-speed train network as a part of a radical overhaul of the infrastructure of the city. And the Tehran Times writes today that among envisaged new German investments in Iran, the biggest Germany-Iran project is a $9.14-billion plan, discussed earlier in 2007, to build a maglev line connecting Tehran to the northeastern city of Mashhad.
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